I think it will be all Serena all the time. I was very disappointed when Venus came back this year. Obviously, she didn't work on her weaknesses at all. Her serve and forehand were the same. I don't know if it's stubbornness or what, but it is pathetic that she wouldn't at least make an attempt to get better. Serena has been ready to go for quite a while, but her doctors just wouldn't give her the green light. I think she is going to come out like a house of fire and never look back. Look for Serena to resume her rivalry with Justine, and for Serena to be in full-flight by the the time Wimbledon and the U.S. Open roll around. I think Justine will be too strong on the red clay, but after that it should get rather interesting.

I will be very surprised to see if Serena makes it passed the third round. I think Venus may go further just becuase she has played a few more tournaments this year already. It seems like these two girls are a little more interested in the glitz and glamorous lifestyle lately than anything regarding tennis at all. Especially Serena. Have you seen this new director boyfriend dude that she is toting around lately? What a tool! A complete scrub. He looks like a short, italian-looking, greasy-haired, out-of-shape, man boobed, scum bag. Some guy you would never ever think that Serena Williams would be into. Here are some photos of the two love birds together.
Basically, I think Serena's head is somewhere else right now, and it's not on tennis. Plus you can never expect huge things when you are trying to get back into playing matches again. A lot of the woman have gotten a lot better physically and mentally, I think the women's game has improved greatly since they left. I think they have a long road back before they start competing for grand slams.http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls=2=22==54920

Henin has attained her current status due to Serena not playing. Yes, Henin is capable of beating Serena; but in ten matchups I would expect Serena to win a least seven of those matches. I don't expect this is going to change right now. Henin has performed impressively this year; but the real queen is back now and Henin's reign is over. To be honest, I am not a big fan of Serena's, but you can't argue with reality.

I expect Serena and Venus to get to the quarters or semis. I agree with Ash, that nothing has really changed in the Williams' sisters absence. Right now, Henin still looks to be the favourite for Roland Garros, but Serena and Venus will dominate once grass and hard court seasons are under way.
Prediction: Henin will not be #1 by the time of US Open if she does not get to Roland Garros final and will not be #1 after US Open even if she does get to Roland Garros final.

All I know is that Venus hasn't been the same since her return, and supposedly she is physically fit. It also takes more than just talent, you have to have a good head for it as well, and sometime that takes a little longer to build up to. I expect them to do well after time but not right away. And if they do perform well at Miami, then great, that'll just make the women's game that much better once again. But I wouldn't expect either sister to dominate Henin-Hardenne as in the past. She is much more fit mentally and for sure, physically. They'll dominate Clijsters as usual, she's just not fit enough. I actually liked not having them around for a little while, we got to see what the rest of the field looked like. But now that we see that there's only two that are really dominating, with a few on the outter edges, we definitely might need some reinforcements. Although the Russian woman are really starting to make their way on up. But having the Williams sisters in the mix now might make everyone else work even harder to improve their own games. Later

"Prediction: Henin will not be #1 by the time of US Open if she does not get to Roland Garros final and will not be #1 after US Open even if she does get to Roland Garros final."

Predictions filled with IF this IF that are like saying nothing. Just want to give you some info, so it might help your future prediction:

JHH has built a big lead over Cljisters now. Between now and US Open, JHH and Cljister has almost same amount of points to defend because Cljisters played more during that period last year even though JHH won both French and US Open. JHH was sick last year during her favrorite clay court season, she only played 3 tournaments before French on clay, 2 hard court before US Open. She will play more on clay this year.

I agree with you on the point that if Serena returns to her top level, she is the favorite on grass and fast US Open. However, for Serena to be No. 1 again, she needs to play more than 12 tournaments in a 12-month period because JHH's result is just too solid year around. Serena hasn't been able to do that in her career yet.